Sudden movement after surgery that can deliver a nip? (5)
I believe the answer is:
optic
'that can deliver a nip?' is the definition.
(an optic might provide a nip of alcohol)
'sudden movement after surgery' is the wordplay.
'sudden movement' becomes 'tic' (an involuntary physical movement).
'after' says to put letters next to each other.
'surgery' becomes 'op' (short for operation).
'tic' after 'op' is 'OPTIC'.
(Other definitions for optic that I've seen before include "Visual" , "Relating to sight" , "Describing a sensory organ" , "Body part" , "Bar measure" .)